Fly swatter



July 15, 1924.

J. S. RAIRDEN FLY SWATTER Filed June '12, 1923 Patented July 15, 1924..

U NIT E le S T Tes JAMES S. RAIRDEN, OF WATERFORD, CALIFORNIA.

FLY SWATTER.

Appiication flied June `12,

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES S. RAIRDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVaterford. in the county of Stanislaus and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fly Swatters of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a fly swatter, and the main object is to provide a swatter that will stand a great deal more hard usage than swatters now found on the market.

The common manner of securing the wire mesh to the handle of the swatter is to rigidly attach it to the same, consequently for every blow to the swatter, the wire mesh is bent along the edge of the handle where it is attached and 'in a short time,`the mesh will break at this place' and the swatte-r will be useless. f

In the swatter forming the subject mat ter of the present invention, a double screen is provided, which is only slightly exposed to bending and especially not along the straight portion of the handle to which it is attached. Instead, the screen is hinged to the handle andy held in extended or inactive position by springs. The latter will yield to one side or the. other when a blo-w is given with the swatter, so that no unnecessary strain is communicated to the screen.

In the accompanying drawing,

-Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the preferred construction of the swatter;

Y Figure 2 is a fragmentary section along line 2 2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a slightly modified form of the swatter.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, reference numeral 10 represents the handle which is preferably made of wire and consists of two lengths of halfround wire 11 and 12 placed with their Hat sides together along line 13.y The head of the handle is formed by two loops 14 bent outwardly in opposite directions from the handle proper to form a T therewith, and the straight outer portion 15 of the T constitutes the hinge rod for the screen.

About the middle of the handle shank, the wires are twisted around each other as at 16 to strengthen and stiffen the handle, and the extreme ends of the wires are preferably twisted together as at 17 to firmly connect them at this end.

In Figure 2 is shown a coil spring 1&5,`

1923. serial No. 644,926.

which is wound around the straight outer portion of the handle serving as the hinge rod 15. One end of the spring 18 is inserted between the two half-round wires 12 and 11, forming the hinge rod, and the other end of the spring extends radially therefrom to form an upstanding arm 19 arranged to extend in longitudinal direction of the handle, las seen yin the figures. Several of these springs 18 are assembled in the same manner as has just been described with regard to the hinge bar, but preferably in such a manner that the arm 19 of one spring extends from ythe last coil on one side of the hinge rod, while the arm 19 of the next spring exterds from a coil on the other side of the ro rIhe swatting plane consists of two layers of wire mesh 2O doubled up around the hinge rod 15 in such a manner that the springs V18 are surrounded by the wire mesh and the shanks or arms 19 are situated between the two layers beyond Vthe hinge rod 15. The screen is held firmly to the shanks or arms 19 of the springs by means of staples 21, or by stitching which may also continue around the edges of the wire mesh to hold the two layers together.

In Figure 3 of the drawing, a slightly modified form of the invention is illustrated, and the handle 22 is constructed as before, of two half-round wires, which, however, at the T portion thereof are provided with a pair of loops 23 o-ne at each end, in which loops a. hinge rod 24E is inserted and held from turning. This hinge rod 24 is also made ofv two half-round pieces of wire so that the springs engage with their short Shanks between the flat sides of the hinge rod 24, while the long shanks engage between the two layers of wire mesh, as already described.

When applying a blow, the swatter plane will yield along the hinge rod 15, when half of the springs 18 will be coiled up, while the other half of them will uncoil; and the opposite will take place when the other side of the swatter is used, so that the springs actually work in opposition to each other, but all of them tending to return the swatter plane into extended position, as in dicated in the drawings.

Having thus described the invention, i

what is claimed as new is:

1. A swatter comprising a handle and a swatting plane; said handley having a T portion' .upon which the -swatterf planeis hinged, and means for yieldingly holding the plane ir. extended position w-ithregard to the handle, said plane including a double layer of wire mesh, doubled around YSaid T portion.

2.-A A swatter Comprising a handle and a swatting plane; said handle having a T portion upon which the swatter plane is hinged, and means `for yieldingly A:holding the plane in extended position with `regard to the handle, said handle being formed by two pieces of half-round Wire placedwith their flat sides together, said .wiresnbeing twisted around each other nied-ially between its ends.

3. A swatter comprisinga 4handle-and a swatting plane; saidzhandle ihavin'g-a T portion yupon which 'the swatter plane is hinged, and 4means rfor :yieldingly holding the plane in extendedfposition with-'regard to the handle, saidl handlebeing forinedfby two pieces; of -half-round wire placed fwith their flat sides ;.togetlier, vsaid `wires -being twisted,` around each `other medially. `Ibetween its ends;l and said yieldable means including coil springs around saidT portion. of the handle,` each :of said springs having. one shank insertedbetween the flat faces of ithe Wire pieces and theother end securedl to the swatting plane.

4. A'swatter comprising .a ,handle anda swatting plane; said @handle having a T portion upon which the swatter plane is hinged, and means for yieldingly holding the plane in extended position with regard to the handle, said plane including' a double Y layerof wire mesh, doubled around said T portion, said handle being formed by two v,pieces of half-round Wire placed with their iat sides together, and said wires being twisted around each other inedially between its ends.

5. A swatter comprising a handle anda swatting plane; said handle havinowa T portion Vupon which the swatter pljane is hinged, and means for yieldingly holding theV plane in extendedl position .with regard to the handle, said plane inoludinga double layer of wire mesh, doubled around said T ,JAMESV S. RAIRDEN. TL.y sf] 

